By Tony Attwood
It takes me several hours to leave the Arsenal Stadium, get the train back to Blacksheep’s house, say hello / goodbye to his good lady wife, and then drive up the A1 to my home in the East Midlands.
And thus by the time I get home the media men and women have had their chance to type up their match reviews and I’ve had plenty of time to consider what I would have said had I been writing a report.
Certainly as I travelled my mind went back to the early days of writing this blog and my reports of rotational fouling by Bolton (we used to call them Notlob) and the like… – that process in which different defenders would take it in turns to execute ludicrous fouls, but with the referee doing nothing save give the free kick, because each foul emanates from a different player each time.
It’s been a long time since I have seen it made a central part of a team’s defensive strategy, but that is what we saw from Southampton. “Are you Bolton in disguise,” I thought to myself, and I answered myself “yes.”
(Of course talking to oneself is dangerous, especially in the darkness of the A1 heading north, but these are dangerous times).
Plus of course we had more VAR nonsense, and an approach to football which again, in the early days here, we used to call anti-football. The process in which player after player goes down as if dead, only to rise up as if touched by the Almighty once it is realised that the referee is keeping up with play rather than looking at the imaginary injury. Plenty of that in this game; no mention of it in the reports I read.
In the ground it was the antics of the referee that were of central concern to many supporters, but for those reporting on the game – or at least in the reports I have read since returning home, no it didn’t happen. I must have imagined it all then.
A different view, a different perspective I guess.
Meanwhile the blogs are full of Arsenal sacking their manager and who should come in. The fact that as we have shown, 80% of managerial changes in the last 16 months have resulted in the clubs being in a lower position than they were when they changed managers has not caught on.
Mind you, this is not to say that I fully understand Mr Emery’s decisions, but then I am not a manager, and have never been a manager. Presumably everyone else has been, because they speak with enormous authority.
However I do possess one or two skills and maybe it is because I possess skills I suspect Mr Emery does not have, that I take it he has skills I don’t have, when it comes to managing a football team.
And that is really what it all comes down to. Observation, experience and skills.
What I saw in the game and thought was important, and what the writer of the article in the Guardian saw and thought was important, were utterly different. Nick Ames in the Guardian saw no reason to mention the referee or the crowds reaction to the referee but he did feel it was important to mention the crowd’s reaction at the end of the game – with all the booing. Why was that?
And were people booing Arsenal players, or the referee, or the Southampton players? He assumes it was the Arsenal players. I am not so sure, especially as some walked around the pitch after the final whistle.
As for what the media says, Give me sport attracted our attention with “Arsenal are so bad right now that even Sky Sports reporters are mocking Unai Emery” A hilarious headline given that Sky Sports reporters always mock Arsenal all the time.
The media of course has a vested interest in knocking Arsenal, because if Mr Emery were to go, they would then be able to make comments about the way the fans (rather than the media) forced Mr Wenger out, and then Mr Emery, with a lot of talk about supporter power, and the weakness of the board.
It is, for all these people who have never managed a club, just a game they play with the club we support. The one thing you can be sure about is that when things get better, they won’t praise the club then, either.
We are, in short, just toys that the media like to play with. We are treated with contempt and fed reports that fit an agenda, not the reality.
It’s all a bit of a shame.
Its an interesting post and in my view point this is what i have seen now happening in EPL when you are a table leader you get the support in every corner for example look at what happened in Liverpool/palace game a clear favor even the so called VAR has to look for a possible way to cancel a goal in favor of l/pool.I think the betting is getting its way in taking our best game away from our hands it looks like as if the reefs are bribed on may be they are following their betting result in order to win a big price.
So back to Emery, A good coach always prepare his team to fight every thing in and off field and you will see the result in the games they play where by even if the reefs are taking side or not they will always do every thing to win the game but in this current Arsenal team you will realize that they are lucking the clear managers guide who even has no plan B in case things dont work.
Were there complaints about the referee? I thought he had a decent enough game and got the two Southampton goal decisions spot on. Chambers blocked a Southampton player off the ball and we were caught out by a clever quick free kick & Tierney tugged back his forward in the penalty area.A yellow card to Lacazette seemed harsh, but I was only watching on TV so couldn’t judge the match atmosphere, and heard that our supporters were sledging Attwell.You hear “the referees a wanker” up & down the country, so it’s hardly with mentioning in the match reviews.
Glad I’m not a paying customer these days or I might have joined the dissenters.
hardly worth mentioning
I just spent 10 or so minutes looking at the news as well. Not a hint of anything having to do with those useless referees and other crap officials from PGMO.
I was at the game yesterday and was horrified by the refereeing. I fel that it went way beyond any bias that we’ve seen from referees like Mike Dean. I was wondering if a group of concerned supporters, after the coming General Election, should approach the parliamentary group of football supporters, lay our concerns before them, and ask them to invite the FA and PGMOL to appear before the relevant committee and respond to those concerns.
I wonder if in a week in which the pigmob have admitted they took our winner against Palace away for no valid reason, that they now decide to call a mistake, whether this was the pigmob thinking okay we got away with that now lets prove there is no evening out of such piss poor performances by now getting worse. Not a single report has the fact that the free kick for the first goal was a clear and obvious rolling ball, let alone any question about the actual position. The determination to issue cards was beyond anything that could be missed by the commentators but again nothing said. Not even with stats does the penny drop for the blood suckers in the media, 12 fouls resulting in 6 yellows for us while enjoying 62% possession with the Sinners having 19 fouls which yielded 2 cards from 38% possession. We were called back when we tried to take a quick free kick and nothing said from match reporters. How the pigmob and these journalists keep their jobs should be an embarrassment to the entire game. In any other sector you would be out the door but all we have here is deliberate disregard for the facts. It is chilling to think that if this is not stopped our sport is condemned to die. Just more proof yesterday how sick football is at the moment.
I attended the game yesterday and confirm the refereeing was appalling. Unfortunately so was much of our football. Defensively we were all over the place.
We need to get back to basics. Get the ball forward quicker.Even if we give away possession in the process at least do it in your opponents half not on the edge or in your penalty area. We have three great strikers. Give them chances and they will score. The team is clearly lacking confidence but we all know things can change very quickly in football. Get behind the players and the manager. Going back to the shocking refereeing nothing has changed. When we were winning the league we were always playing against 12 men. COYG
I really don’t know what you are smoking, but the stands booing the players, the club and Emery and NOT the referee was the most obvious thing in the universe. The north bank was singing “we want Emery out”. The second Laca goal did not end in ultimate cheers, not even from the player himself. But yea, must have been the ref, the Sints-players and the negative media that made Arsenal play like shit.
The referee was appalling, he couldn’t wait to book our players, often for the first foul….Pepe ffs, he quickly neutralised Torriera and Sok, again for first fouls. We knew along he was itching to give them a penalty and us a red. Must be very difficult to play week after week in such circumstances, and again, I repeat myself, but why do the club do nothing. Can anyone imagine say Liverpool getting such refereeing, the media outcry if they did…..I mention Liverpool as I don’t remember the last time a key decision went against them, they are good, but they are getting a lot of help. Can’t have city winning everything!
The Soton players were diving, falling over, feigning concussion ( surely that player shouldn’t have been allowed back on) , the ref signalled his intentions early on he was buying their time wasting tactics, and so they continued. Many teams have learned from Stoke and Bolton, this is one of them, as are most teams we play.
I cannot speak for all fans, but confirm much of the ht booing was aimed at the ref, as it was at the final whistle when the ref stopped a promising Arsenal attack. He really was appalling, another ref FIF has a lot of opinions on .
That said, our formations were shambolic. If a team recently beaten 9-0 can organise a defence, why can’t we? Or why won’t we? The defence is constantly exposed and makes multiple mistakes. The shots against indicates serious problems.
I suspect Emery will be gone at the end of the season, or before, these results will eventually prove unsustainable and cost us key players. But, the MF will remain unbalanced without additions or development, the defence leaky, and the PGMOL aren’t going away ( really hope Wenger gives Riley a grilling in their upcoming meeting).
Our next manager is coming soon, and he will have a job on his hands. I used to wonder if the PGMOL were acting on behalf of those who wanted us out of the top four, I am starting to wonder if they want us in the Championship!
I was in The north bank, yes, there were emery out chants, and yes, the referee was being booed , and can confirm the chants of “ you don’t know what you’re doing” we’re aimed at the ref
I was at the game in my seat in section C block 5 and had to endure the Emery our chants. I am in agreement with the sentiment now, as the players don’t seem to be able to throw off the shackles. I confronted one of the chanters and he decided he wanted a fight, leaping over several seats and landed on me wanting a fight. He is a big mouthed idiot and if you stand nearby I am sure you all know the guy. I said support the team during the game and express your displeasure at the final whistle that is your choice. However this is where the fan base is headed. Unhappy with our results and ‘style’ of play there will be more confrontations like this. As for the referee, Atwell I think? He was awful and stopped two or three of our free kicks for a rolling ball or taken too quickly. 6 bookings for us?? They cheated and feigned their way through the game but unless we find some defensive coaching or organisation then this will be a long season. If Sheffield Utd win today then we will be behind Wolves Burnley and Sheffield Utd in eighth. Not sure how long Emery has but the next three games have to be won Norwich West Ham and Brighton. 9 points or he is gone.
Dishonesty has become accepted by the media, to the extent that it is no longer regarded as a matter of concern. We need look no further than the positions adopted by the President of the USA and the UK Prime Minister. They are acknowledged, but hardly criticised, so that their habitual lying is almost legitimised. This has a corrosive effect and others start to adopt the same approach. Much of the British media needs little encouragement to distort and misrepresent the truth in many situations, so we have a mutually toxic relationship being established.
The referee bias against Arsenal is never mentioned by BBC, ITV, Sky, Guardian etc. A pity that so many Arsenal followers choose not to question the media accounts. This season, I estimate that VAR has cost us 5 points (compounded by the gift of points to other teams, like Tottenham and, dare I say it, Liverpool). Even Riley’s brazen admission that we were denied a legitimate goal (and 2 points) against Palace has not attracted any critical or outraged media reaction. They confine the VAR debate to general matters of delay, effect on atmosphere of games, rather than comment on the blatant bias in the way it is applied by PGMOL.
On a separate question, I wonder why Leicester were allowed to retake a missed penalty after one of their own players had encroached into the area. I could understand it if the encroachment had been by a Brighton player. Why should the team who commits the offence be given the benefit? Why was the game not re-started by a Brighton free-kick? I trust that Walter will be able to tell me if I my doubt is unfounded and the decision was correct.
The ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ chants could have been directed at the ref, or at our defenders, or at Emery. Frankly, yesterday our defenders were most deserving.
Every big club at home deals with tactical fouls, time wasting, and theatrics. To pretend this is some scourge that Arsenal alone are facing is disingenuous at best. This really does remind me a lot of things going on in the American Republican party. Trump does something corrupt, and his cronies just start in on the ‘what about biden’ or ‘what about the deep state’ garbage. We’re doing that with Arsenal. Instead of acknowledging the obvious deficiencies in our squad and tactics, it’s ‘what about the refs’ and ‘what about VAR’.
The refs and VAR obviously have some issues, and most teams probably feel hard done by more often than not. Our situation is of our own making, though.
Good post Mark. In fairness a lot of the fans around me were supporting the players, Emery, another matter. The independent think the managers day of reckoning might be after the West Ham game, but we shall see, not sure where the execs appetite lies. But it seems to be getting to the point where his position is untenable.Perhaps they are happy emery takes the flak away from them, for now.
But do get frustrated, a big club, big resources, wtf can’t we sort out a defence And MF cover for the defence ,over so many years when even relegation candidates can? This more than anything will cost emery in the end.
The ref wasn’t poor, he was cheating. He couldn’t wait to stop the flow of our attacks, indulging their theatrics whenever he could, they quickly picked up on this, as such a team would.
Until the club take this on, this refereeing isn’t going away
Scuba, seriously doubt Liverpool have to deal with the Ref enabled theatrics we do. A team trying what we saw yesterday at Anfield would be lucky to finish with nine men.
As bad as we were, that was not a level playing field yesterday. In wengers day, we overcame such things, at home at least, Emery is struggling, terminally.
The biggest “don’t know what you’re doing“ chant I heard was when one of their players threw himself to the ground, nowhere near the ball or opponent, as we were attacking, the ref of course stopped the game, momentum was lost and the chant took hold.
Interesting point on Leicester, not in Liverpool’s league, but another team who seem to get a lot of help
Tony, this is just a question. But are you actually blocking out comments saying the officiating was okay and the result yesterday had nothing to do with it? Just wondering
OT: Arsenal Women
It is towards the end of the first half, we are ahead 1-0 (thnak to Miedema again). Earlier games seen ManU win 4-0, Man$ity win 0-5 and the spuds lose 3-1. According to Gribsdnaug, the Arsenal lineup consists of 4 players. Here is the BBC lineup.
Arsenal: Zinsberger, Roord, Beattie, Williamson, McCabe, Evans, Nobbs, Little, van de Donk, Mead, Miedema
Beach: Wälti, Quinn, Maier, Schnaderbeck, Peyraud-Magnin, Grant, Filis
There were 3 minutes added on, it is now half time. We had 45% possession (unusual). Our shots were 7:3, Liverppol was at 3:2. Fouls were 3:4, no cards issued yet.
OT: Arsenal Women
Chel$ea game just started, and they scored a goal already. So, the top of the standings are not changing significantly. But Man$ity seems to building a lot of goal difference, which is of concern. Come on Miedema, hoping for that 8 or 10 goal game! 🙂
What, to me, needs sorting out first is our team play and for that Emery and the players are responsible. The PigMob will continue their antics which, I believe led to the eventual premature departure of Wenger. Now the background noise is building up, distracting those who should act from taking effective steps that will turn the Club’s fortunes around.
But if we continue to play, unconvincingly, then Emery might be made to pay the price also. The AFC Board should not fall into the trap of trying to micro manage their charges who are well paid to do what they were hired for. Emery the ball is still squarely in your court. I was glad to hear you say “…I know I can do better…” When will that be?
OT: Anthony Taylor
UEFA is making a mistake, they are going to let Anthony Taylor screw up the Atletico Madrid and Juventus game. They really should never use a PGMO employee.
I was at the match yesterday and the previous one at Leicester and it is clear to me we do not have a pattern and are bad defensively. It hurts me to say it that Leicester were clearly a better and organised team and even Southampton missed several chances to have sown up the match. I agree with Tony that their shamming injury several times was shameful and theis wasting time told against them in the end with a whopping seven minutes added. Even then for the first five minutes of you could have been forgiven for thinking they were the side chasing a goal. Perhaps that too added to their partial downfall.
I still cannot understand why so many of our so called supporters leave so early even if not pleased by our display. Many in the clock end going ten minutes before normal time and droves during added time. Serves them right they missed the excellent Lacazette’s fine equaliser.
Having lived through many fallow periods in the past lets hope things soon improve, with or without Unai Emery.
OT: Arsenal Women 1-0 winners
Just the one goal was enough. The game ended with Arsenal slightly under 50% on possession after 4 minutes of extra time. Shots ended 16:4 versus 5:2. Fouls ended 6:7 (essentially equal), and it does not appear that any cards were issued.
Congratulations Gunners!
Early in the second half with Chel$ea away, now leading 0-5. Arsenal will still be in 3rd after this set of games, but we are falling behind on goal difference.
Everton beat the spuds 3-1, and are in 4th place. ManU in 5th. The spuds are ahead of StateAid on goal difference.
We live in deeply worrying times where deceit and lies are just accepted as the norm. Football is clearly in that category. Every club seems to have a narrative which is churned out 24 hours a day. Arsenal are in permanent crisis. Pottechino was lauded as a great manager (no trophies)yet Arsenal win 3 fa cups in recent years are the club in crisis. Liverpool are just beyond reproach. Chelsea break 100+ rules but they have super frankie Lampard at the helm who you’re meant to feel for because they cant sign anyone. They are cheats. They should have been made an example of and deducted points. Man city. Well where do you start. If AFC had broken as many rules we would most certainly have not heard the last of it. Probably told that we should be demoted.
As I say we live in very dangerous times and we certainly haven’t got to the worst of it yet.(in politics or in sport)
I don’t agree with everything that the author of this site writes but broadly speaking hes not too far away from the truth.
They say when good men do nothing,evil is allowed to flourish.
Yes, Southampton were time wasting trying to protect their lead, but they were punished with an added seven minutes in which Lacazette scored our equaliser after 5 mins. So justice done on that level.
I think the PGMO used their appointing the match centre referee Mr Atwell for our home PL match against Southampton yesterday to say to us the Arsenal fans and their blog sites such as the Untold Arsenal who have been making complaints on the rotating of some PGMO select elite match centre referees for up to 4 times to referee in Arsenal match in the PL since from the beginning of this PL season’s campaign like ref’ Martin Atkinson who they’ve used 4 times to refereed Arsenal matches in the PL before our home match against Southampton yesterday that was given to ref’ Atwell to refereed it. The Mike Riley’s headed PGMO is saying to us okay, we at the PGMO will give you what us Gooners and Arsenal blogs want to see happen in our matches in the PL henceforth from yesterday at Ems. They said: We’ll give you the complaining Arsenal fans another match referee in the PL in ref’ Atwell who is not one of our 5 select elite referees to referee in Arsenal vs Southampton fixture in the PL. But still, the status quo in anti-Arsenal match refereeing agenda in the PL will not change but remain in force even if we keep appointing different match centre referee every now and then different from our 5 senior select elite match referees to referee in Arsenal matches in the PL, the anti-Arsenal match refereeing in the PL that us have been witnessing shall continue being implemented to the letter. This is because we at the PGMO hold the aces in match refereeing in the PL to determined who wins or who loses or plays to a draw game. Period! So, you the Arsenal fans and blogs should stop worrying yourselves making complains that we won’t considered even if you keep complaining till the end of the age of playing football in the PL we won’t be moved or bothered. Hmmm. That the PGMO for us Gooners and Arsenal blogs.
OT: Arsenal Women 1-0 winners
Chel$ea won their game 0-6.
Although Liverpool lost to Arsenal today, I think you need to give Liverpool some credit. They have 1 draw and 6 losses in their 7 games so far this season. Their goal difference is only -8. They are only allowing a goal difference of -1.3 per game. Today’s game had few fouls and no cards. Is that also characteristic of their team?
UEFA does make mistakes with our refs Gord, they have to include them, but even the corrupt FIFA won’t touch our refs in their big summer tournaments these days. A damning indictment for mike Riley who seems untouchable
Speedy: not that I know. Comments that are blocked are mostly blocked because they are abusive or from people who have been abusive before or have given a fake address. Also ones that simply say the article is wrong and give no evidence or reasoning can get stopped. Much of it is done automatically- there is more on this on the comments page – see Pages, comments.
Best is this article i feel, Mike Riley asking Wenger for advice!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/11/23/mike-riley-expected-hold-talks-var-standards-arsene-wenger/amp/
I was at the game too the referee was infuriating with his brandishing of cards (6 Arsenal 2 Southampton – the foul count according to BBC was 13 (Arsenal) to 19 (Southampton) stopping clear Arsenal advantages. The only redeeming feature was the added time that seemed to have taken into account the absolutely appauling time wasting by Southampton. I was with my 8 year old Grandson so left 3 mins before the end of normal time – whilst I was there the crowd were telling the referee that he didn’t’t know what he was doing.
Insofar as the job Unai Emery is doing I confess that like you I don’t know what it takes to manage an elite football club – neither can I fly a plane but I would know when something wasn’t’t right as a passenger ! Surely enough is enough with this guy – back 5 versus team 19th in league?
Xhaka subbed and booed out by rabid crowd weeks ago
Xhaka not played for Arsenal since then.
Arsenal not able to win league games since then
Hypothesis, Xhaka probably Arsenal’s missing piece …….to win games….. (In UE’s mind the mechanism is not clear but the resuts are… so he plays him all the time)…. of course there will be the occasional draws and the odd defeat but there will always be enough victories to savour. Then the crowd took over…… we have not won since.
Just like the slow, hard tackling, card conceding, always injured Kompany was City’s saviour in the most difficult games
#Bringbackxhaka
To your surprise
Arsenal might start winning again.
Arsenal are top of one league, penalties conceded. Out on their own on 5 conceded, believe just one given.
Mike Riley’s negative penalty balance that has, in many seasons afflicted us since 2008 is alive and well, only getting worse.
Our players must be terrified to make any contact in the area at all, with refs like atwell who was itching to give them something despite what they were getting away with.
Fair points Yorks Gunner but I would be cautious about ditching the pilot in mid flight
way to go Man. 3 goals in seven minutes!
I am not a fan but it was some effort …. until they eased off and re-invited the “hot irons” back into their box …. of course you would get IRONED.
Overall the match looked like a lesson in strategy, tactics and character.
Even the worst looking games can be salvaged if strategy, tactics and character work together, you don’t always need the “bestest” players to get a result.
At Arsenal we are facing unusual situations which take a special set of skills to overcome…
We are having to fight our way back into games to get anything (these days just a point). And we are struggling to maintain a marginal winning position to get to the final whistle. Fans were used to us taking the lead, scoring 3 or more goals eliciting a tacit surrender and comfortably closing out the game. Now every team is spending big money and teams that used to be considered “microscopic” will not give up even with just a minute to go.
Knowing how to play in such adverse conditions is a requirement of the modern game. We should certainly complain about the current results but wanting to get back to swaggering to a win without internalizing how to methodically dismantle a difficult team or successfully contain a determined team will do us no good.
Arsenal is a big team. Big teams play in many different ways,
And some could be:
–Cantering to a win against the weakest teams…. if there are any such teams,
–Systematically breaking down the obdurate teams (sometimes just a goal will do)
–and resolutely containing the powerful teams
And if you are thinking that in every game you need to play all three styles you are absolutely right. The strength, determination and talent of the opposition will signal how and when to deploy each strategy and of course success also depends on the specific tactics and how effectively they are executed.
If I was a sensational newspaper headline writer , mine would boldly claim ,
” Arsenal halt Saturday’s EPL home team’s abysmal showing by drawing with the Saints!”
Followed by some vague chatter on how Man City were inspired by us to fight and win their game, thus being the only home team (so far ) to win, in a strange weekend of unprecedented away wins .
Of course I would sow some suspicions on betting trends with even vague graphs and figures and outlandish claims.
Also very vaguely tie that up with some incident that involed some mischeif and mayham. Better still if bookies were injured ,chased or were threatened .
And to hide the intended crime , The Blades were given every oppertunity against Man Utd , despite a gallant fightback .
And of course I would claim that x amount of millions would have changed hands if this crime had been allowed to be perpetrate .
Anyone buying this ?
A penalty that we all know would never been given in our favour by this ref. A ref who from the first minute was making his intention clear in giving every 50/50 call against us. Including throw ins. A ref giving cards against Arsenal as if he got extra paid for doing so. A ref and a VAR ref who clearly so no wrong in a Southampton player deflecting a ball with a raised arm in their penalty area. Despite the fact that I have been told that when a defender raises his arms it must be seen as a deliberate move of the arm and thus a handball should be given…
After some 15 minutes I wrote on the facebook page of Arsenal Belgium that this ref was doing all he could to make us drop points. I expected VAR to rule out our late equaliser because of Martinelli having the guts to dribble past his opponent on the flank. Or for Lacazette for dangerous play or so. But they couldn’t really find anything there.
Yes a lot should have been said about the ref of this match….
I don’t know what or who to be really mad at: Unai Emery for tactics, formations and game plans that make us vulnerable, our players for a seeming lack of desire to win even at home, some fans for all the negative and corrosive comments, the media for their lopsided view and commentary on even the most glaring of injustices, the ex-players constantly berating the club, the truly atrocious refereeing we are often on the receiving end of, the cloak and dagger PGMO, the FA and it’s weird implementation of VAR, the Stan Kroenke machinery; of myself for believing less and less each day that this team can finish in the top four.
Notwithstanding all that went against us, most of which isn’t new; what is evident was we had a little over half the number of shots at goal than Southampton did, creating a little over half the chances they did, despite having 61% possession. Say what you want about possession, but we had more of the ball at home and failed to take advantage. This is coming from a team with the third best home record last season. Now even the teams playing the worst are taking points off us at home. They got thrashed 0 – 9 by Leicester, lost twice to Manchester City, then Everton and would have beaten us but for a last gasp equalizer from Lacazette. Yeah, so they played dirty, and the elements were against us; but this is professional football not tiddlywinks. When we could string up 4 passes, it’d be sideways, backwards or in a box while they often took 3 – 4 passes to enter our half of the pitch (coming off 4 defeats?).
I really do want to lend Unai Emery all the support, but I can’t understand what he’s doing with the team. Yeah, yeah, I’m not a football manager and have zilch experience (aside from 5 seasons managing Arsenal on FM 2019), but some of his decisions are just baffling. Watching Ozil and Torreira play had me thinking, “why in God’s name hasn’t he been playing them regularly?” While I support bringing up youth players, their stats so far hasn’t justified leaving out experience. Players out of their favored positions suggests he’s still tweaking, yet he’s had a season to work on that. For a manager hailed as meticulous with videos of opponents, some of his formations have been odd. Then again, I’m no expert and probably don’t have a clue.
I really wish the management would take a decision, whatever it is; but given our performance thus far, 7 or 8th with 56 points seems likely. I don’t want us losing Lacazette, Aubameyang and Torreira, as I don’t see them sticking around if we fail to make the CL. Still got to have faith though
WB, I also expected them to find a way to disallow Lacca second goal, half the crowd did, and I think the player himself may have done, hence the issues over him celebrating.
That was one of the more anti Arsenal biased refs I have seen, and I have seen a few.
Until the club do something, I don’t know what, but something, we are always going to get this type of refereeing. I am sure a man like Raul knows exactly what is going on.
I seem to remember a few years ago, think it was Atwell giving us a penalty at Old Trafford in an FA Cup game, we won that game and went on to win the cup. Every performance I have seen since with this ref for us suggests to me Atwell got in a lot of trouble for his decision in that game
Deutsche Welle: Violence against referees – a far too common occurrence
https://www.dw.com/en/violence-against-referees-a-far-too-common-occurrence-in-europe/a-51374781
The (sweet) FA wants players and spectators to show _RESPECT_ to officials from the EPL on down through all levels of football in England. But look at the EPL, the fans can see the nonsense that the PGMO are inflicting on games. They see that the medja and the pudnits (both deliberately mis-spelt) either don’t mention or show this nonsense, or they seek to justify all this crap. An Arsenal player looks at a player on another team, and is carded. A player on another team executes what could be a career ending tackle, and there is no action by the referee or the The (sweet0 FA disciplinary committee. What does the fan take away from watching all this crap in the EPL?
RESPECT the officials? Why? It’s obvious that the officials don’t even respect themselves. There is no professionalism in such inconsistency.
—
Sorry, no interest in reading a story about Moaninho and Arsenal.
Watched the ‘foul’ leading to the Saints first goal and if anything it was a foul against Arsenal. Redmond barges into Chambers (who stood his ground) and drops down. It was never a foul but then some of these things look almost set up by PGMOL. The ball is dropped about 5 yards to the side of where the ‘foul’ occured and a moving ball was passed to Ings.
What was VAR looking at? The foul was wrong; the ball was moving; the kick was taken from the wrong place; Ings was possibly off side; the PGMOL cheating goes on.
What is more annoying peopke like Mastersrtoke follow the broadcast line rather than look at what actually happened.
Chambers obstructed Redmond, and there was no moving ball. Stop deceiving yourself bro. Or go ahead, deceive yourself, nobody’s listening anyways
Yilch if no one is listening, why are you talking?
After a morning walk, a couple of doctors were standing at a road-side restaurant enjoying a cup of tea.
Then they saw a man limping towards them.
One doctor said he has Arthritis in his Left Knee.
The second said he has Plantar Faciitis.
The third said, just an Ankle Sprain…
The fourth said, see that man cannot lift his knee, he looks to have Lower Motor Neurons.
But to me he seems a ‘Hemiplegia Scissors Gait’ , said the fifth.
Before the sixth could proclaim his diagnosis, the man reached the group and asked, ….
“Is there a cobbler nearby who can repair my slipper?”
This is exactly how the ’Experts’ talk on Social Media & Television these days..!!
If I were to be there , I would have proclaimed confidently that he had probably shit(ed) his pants .
You see , I am now an expert , having heard some utter and unbelievable crap from many fake non Arsenal loving posters here for the last 10 years !
@Tony, probably because you’re listening to me.
Yilch
There’s a saying I once read that may explain why Tony replied to your post, in fact why anyone might reply to your posts. It goes something like this:
“If you are in a room and somebody smears shit upon the walls:
You cannot help but see it.
You cannot help but smell it.
You cannot help but react to it.
But remember this. Despite all that, it is still just shit on the wall”.
——
Or something like that. Please excuse any errors as I did have to translate it from ancient Greek hyroglifics.